Winter puts twists in school calendars

Jacksonville School District 117 is cancelling school improvement days for the rest of the school year to make up instructional time.

The school district said the four remaining school improvement days, which are normally half days, will have regular dismissal times. The decision is a result of the number of emergency days the district has used this year.

Director of Operations Mike McGiles said the district planned for five emergency days, as required by the state, and has used seven.

The district plans to apply for a waiver through the state to have the two excess emergency days approved as “act of God” days, meaning the district would not have to make the days up. However, McGiles said canceling the school improvement days will allow teachers and students to recoup instructional time.

“The time we’ll gain back by cancelling those half SIP days gets us back a day and a half of the two days,” he said.

The affected days are Feb. 27, March 13, April 10 and May 8. Jacksonville High School early-release days on Wednesdays are unchanged.

If more emergency days are needed, McGiles said the superintendent and board of education will decide whether to make up the days or apply for a waiver.

More Information

2018-19 emergency days

Here are where some area school districts stand this year so far:

• Beardstown: 7

• Bluffs: 5

• Carrollton: 3

• Jacksonville: 7

• Meredosia-Chambersburg: 8

• New Berlin: 7

• North Greene: 4

• Triopia: 6

• Virginia: 7

• Waverly: 6

• Winchester: 7

Virginia schools Superintendent Gary DePatis said he doesn’t expect the state to be understanding of the extreme weather districts have faced this winter. Virginia used seven emergency days, something DePatis said was out of the ordinary.

“This is the first time I’ve ever had it happen. This is a very unusual winter,” he said.

This winter has seen multiple heavy snowfalls and at the end of January sub-zero temperatures and extreme wind chills of more than 30 below.

DePatis added that he had heard of other districts in central Illinois with emergency days in the double digits, with weather both canceling school and causing facility issues.

But emergency days are not just snow days.

Superintendent Thad Walker said Meredosia-Chambersburg schools had to use one emergency day in August because of a bridge demolition cutting off traffic. He said that’s not something a district usually runs into.

“Maybe once in a lifetime in the district they’re going to blow up a bridge and open a new one,” he said with a laugh.

Districts in west-central Illinois generally planned for five emergency days, as the state requires. Some have already heard back on waivers for number of days over five they have had to take.